the red dahlia
by punkhale
Summary: Cora scowled at the big "Grand Opening" sign across the street, a reminder that the pizza shop she used to eat at and loved (mostly due to proximity but still) was gone. And in its place was a f*cking flower shop.


**notes:** based on a tumblr post about a tattoo parlor next to a florist shop au

* * *

><p>Cora scowled at the big "Grand Opening" sign across the street, a reminder that the pizza shop she used to eat at and loved (mostly due to proximity but still) was gone. And in its place was a fucking flower shop.<p>

For the life of her she couldn't figure out why anyone would want to spend their money on something that was just going to die in a week anyways. Or on something they could pull out of the ground themselves. It was ridiculous. Which she was in the process of telling her brother. Again.

"Alright, alright, can it," Derek said, tossing the book of flash he was flipping though next to him. "Don't you have a two o'clock coming in?"

Cora shot another spiteful glare at the floral shop and turned to face him. "Yeah. They want one of those stupid live, laugh, love tattoos."

Derek cringed. "Well, try not to murder them in the chair."

"I make no promises."

* * *

><p>The flower shop was called The Red Dahlia and it did annoyingly well. She'd even had a few of her regular clients come in with bouquets that they left on the front desk. Her secretary, Erica, thought they were great.<p>

"They really brighten up the place," she said, positioning a vase of daisies on the jewelry counter.

"It's bright enough in here," Cora grumbled. "It's a tattoo parlor, it has to be."

Erica shrugged. "You're just being grumpy because Santo's closed and now you have to go across town for pizza."

"Yes I am," Cora said. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Not really. Can I go home?"

Cora pinched the bridge of her nose but waved her off. "Fine, go. But you have to come in for opening tomorrow."

"You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, go on. Wait, when's my next appointment?"

Erica looked up at the clock above the door. "Five minutes. Some girl who came in yesterday morning, wanted some text on her arm."

The girl ended up being a redheaded woman in impossibly high heels and the most stupidly kissable lips Cora had ever seen. She was the kind of woman that people pulled out the word "bombshell" to describe. Cora had to keep herself from staring.

"So you're Lydia Martin, right?" she asked, glancing at the schedule.

The woman nodded her assent and stuck out a hand. Cora shook it, unsurprised by the perfect pink manicure she was sporting. "You must be Cora then. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too. I understand you want some text done. Do you have it with you?"

They spent about twenty minutes designing what she wanted in photoshop and Cora appreciated how picky Lydia was about the font. She never thought people were picky enough about those kind of details.

The tattoo itself was a simple phrase, but a powerful one. Cora loved it, and was kind of jealous she hadn't gotten a tattoo of it first.

_Both girls and wolves have sharp teeth._

Cora stenciled it onto her inner forearm after thoroughly wiping the spot clean, and adjusted the chair so she could get the best lighting.

"Have you ever gotten a tattoo before?"

Lydia shook her head. "No, but I have a pretty high pain tolerance."

Cora had heard that about a million times before. Very few people had as high a tolerance as they thought.

"Alright. If you need me to stop and take a breather just let me know."

As it turned out, Lydia was one of the few people to come into the shop that did in fact have a high pain tolerance. The needle jabbing into her skin barely seemed to bother her as she chatted away through the entire thing.

Talking to clients had never been one of Cora's strong points. Her art was excellent and she knew she was good with the needle, but small talk was not one of her skills. It was a Hale family thing -Derek was terrible at it, too.

It was easier with Lydia though.

"I just moved into town about a month ago," the redhead was saying. "My family wanted me to stay close but I had an opportunity here that I just couldn't turn down."

"A good job is like that. I hope it's something you enjoy doing."

"I love it, it's something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl."

"I wanted to be a zombie when I was little," Cora said, pausing to wipe away some of the excess ink.

Lydia raised a brow. "I see it didn't work out for you. Unless it's your weekend job."

Cora laughed. "Well I used to work in a haunted house and got to dress up as one once, so I consider it a dream fulfilled."

"How lucky for you," Lydia said and there was something about the look she gave her that made Cora want to lean over and kiss her. Which was beyond unprofessional and she squashed the thought down. She turned the needle on and got back to work.

* * *

><p>"Flowers on the desk for you," Derek said when Cora walked through the door the next day.<p>

Cora groaned, taking in the sight of the bouquet of dahlias taking up most of the space. "Could you put them in the backroom for me, they're downright imposing."

Derek didn't move from his place on the couch. "I think you should read the card."

"Why?"

"Stop being difficult, just do it."

She sighed but plucked the card out anyways. It was made from simple card stock and had the flower store's logo on the front. The inside was filled with a delicate script.

_Cora,_

_I wanted to thank you again for your excellent work yesterday, I will be recommending you to all of my friends and customers. I was wondering, would you like to get dinner sometime? I close up my shop at seven, give me a call if you'd like. -Lydia_

Underneath was a phone number and Cora found herself grinning down at it, her annoyance about the flowers forgotten.

"So are you going to call her?" Derek asked.

"Butt out of my private life," she said. "Or I'll tell Laura about your crush on Stilinski."

"You wouldn't."

"Don't test me."

Derek huffed and got up off the couch. "I'm going for lunch."

"Bring me back a slice of pizza!"

"Get your own pizza," he grumbled, going for the door.

"Thanks!" she called after him. She waited until he was gone before pulling out her cell phone and punching in the phone number Lydia had left her.

"Hello, this is The Red Dahlia, my name is Lydia, how can I help you today?"

Cora felt her jaw drop and she took the phone away from her ear for a second to stare at it.

"Hello?" came the voice from the other end. "Is anyone there?"

"Lydia?" Cora asked.

"Cora! I'm so glad you called. I trust you got the flowers then."

"Ah, yeah," she said slowly, staring at the bouquet in front of her. They were dahlias. Of course. "I didn't know you worked across the street from me."

"I know. Erica came in last week to pick up an arrangement and told me how annoyed you were with all the flowers you were getting."

"So... you sent me flowers anyways?"

"I was kind of hoping you would figure it out before then," Lydia replied, laughing a little.

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Cora replied, but she couldn't make herself sound angry. Mostly she just felt completely dense and a little embarrassed.

"Do you still want to go to dinner?" Lydia asked.

"I never said I did before."

"Oh please, you and I both know that's why you called."

Cora grinned into her phone. Lydia was her kind of woman.

"Dinner would be great."


End file.
